1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is containers for holding live plants for display and sale, and more particularly, closed-system containers for holding live plants for display and sale for a long duration.
2. Background
Live plants adorn our homes, businesses and everyday surroundings. There are many types of plants, such as aquatic plants, meaning plants adapted for living in a fresh water aquarium. People who own aquariums with fish, crabs, and other aquatic life often purchase aquatic plants for their aquariums. Typically, consumers purchase aquatic plants at a store that sells aquariums and fish. Non-aquatic plants are sold at retail garden stores, where they usually sit on a shelf and require daily waterings by a human or machine. The journey that live plants take to reach these stores is long and life-threatening. Live plants require water and nutrients. These plants may travel thousands of miles, from faraway countries, on ships, trains and trucks and endure long durations of travel without interventional care. Such plants are generally transported in containers having water or soil. During packing, transportation, and unpacking, plants fall over, causing their precious water or soil to spill. Having a reduced water or soil supply puts the plant at risk of failing to survive the long journey. Once packed, no one checks the plants and refills their water supply. As a result, many plants perish before arriving at their final destination, the retail store.
Even those plants that survive the journey to the retail store must further endure a significant time sitting on a shelf at the store, until a consumer purchases the plant and places the plant in its normal aquatic or in-ground environment. Retail stores must either expend significant human resources to water the plants so as to take care of their investment, or charge a higher price to make up for those plants that cannot be sold. Because it is cheaper to purchase plants (as with any item) in bulk, the time during which the plant sits on a shelf as opposed to its normal environment is increased. If the retail store places its aquatic plants in an aquarium, the cost of such care is high because of the cost of the aquariums, water, lights and electricity.
Water-retaining hydrogels have been used in the prior art to enhance the hydration of the roots of live plants, where plants are planted in pots that contain hydrogel. Because the hydrogel retains water well, less water is required for plants that reside in pots containing hydrogel. Similarly, hydrogel may be added to the dirt in a hole in the ground before a plant is put into the hole. Such open systems are not effective in transporting and displaying a live plant for a long duration at a retail store, without requiring the need for interventional human care and watering.
Therefore, there is a need for a container system that can hold and transport a live plant without spilling a water and/or nutrient source and also display the live plant for sale for a long duration in a self-sustaining manner.